Microsoft accused of violating patents with its Bing search engine

In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, I/P Engine Inc. accused Microsoft Corp. of infringing patents in the generation of ads and related links for its Bing search engine.

I/P Engine claims that Microsoft’s search technology is based on the inventions of employees of I/P Engine’s parent company, Vringo Inc. What’s more, I/P Engine claims that Microsoft willfully infringed its patents, which, if the court agrees, could lead to a higher damage award. The suit alleges that Microsoft applied for a similar patent, and when the Patent and Trademark Office rejected it in 2003, it referenced one of the I/P Engine patents in question.

The company has had some success defending these patents against tech giants before—in November 2012, a jury awarded it $30 million in damages, finding that companies like Google Inc. and AOL Inc. had infringed the same patents. Even so, the $30 million award was a fraction of what I/P Engine had sought. The company originally was seeking $696 million in damages.